What’s holding that bike up?

A common question when people see my bike photos is “What’s holding that bike up?” It’s fun to hear some of the ideas people have about how I do it. A common suggestion is to have a friend hold the bike, then when he lets go and steps out of the shot, take the picture before the bike falls over. Looks like this guy wasn’t fast enough.

I am usually by myself so I’ve come up with a simpler solution. A small piece of clear plexiglass that I wedge under the rear axle or near the bottom bracket. It’s more visible in some shots than others, so I will occasionally go in and Photoshop out the edges of the plexi to make it less noticeable. Here’s the same shot as above before I erased the plexi.

and a close up: